“eh le iqma duniya mien basoorat-e-Khurshid jeete hain, yahaan doobe to
Wahaan nikle vahaan doobe to yahaan nikle.”
It means that men of faith in this world live like the Sun, setting in
one part of the world to rise in another!
KPS Gill, the man with a towering personality, equaled the sun in
stature. Hi presence could reduce your own existence to a minute spec
of dust. His piercing gaze would penetrate the veil of your mind and
unearth your deepest secrets. The ferocity of his eyes told a
different story, it wasn’t just an impression of the raconteur of
operations, it was a vision to make India free of militants and
terrorists that gave them that ferocity.
He was an Assam-Meghalaya cadre IPS officer who was shifted to Punjab
in the times of crisis , post 1984 blue star operation when militancy
was at its peak.
His vibrant personality became the source of morale of the police
force in Punjab which was at one point itself terrified of the
terrorists, leave alone bringing them to justice. Law and order had
completely broken down, judges wouldn’t let terrorists be brought
before them until they were blindfolded, the situation was morass.
He spread his nexus of intelligence throughout the state, attacking
militants in their own hideouts. It was a point for him to visit each
high profile encounter spot in order to boost his officers. The
responsibility of weeding out militants from the Golden Temple after
the blunder of operation blue star was given to him. He called the
media to cover the operation for the nation to watch the naked truth.
He lay siege to the Sikh shrine and cut off all supplies to the
militants frustrating them to come out and surrender. He has given
much credit to the army for its contribution and support, it wouldn’t
have been possible without the coordination between the police and the
army he emphasised.
After wiping out terrorism from its very root in Punjab, he was
called in Gujarat as advisor to narendra Modi after the 2002 riots.
His reign as DGP of Punjab 1991-95 saw killings of various militants
all across the state in a fearless manner. His uniform spoke of only
one religion which was the nation . Apart from giving out orders to
Subordinates he was often seen reciting Shakespeare in his deep heavy
voice. Urdu poetry was another way in which he expressed himself. A
few days prior to his demise he said in an interview that death could
come to him anytime now and recited :
“Gudaaz-e-ishq nahi kam jo main jawan na raha, vo hee aag hai par aag
mein dhuaan na raha” (The fire of love burns in me still even though I
am no longer young, it is but the same though not as fiery).
This obituary was written by Sushant Kareer (V Year).
